Stats:
Name: Danny Way
Birthplace: Portland, Oregon
Resides: Encinitas, CA and Carlsbad, CA
Years skating: 28
Music: All the above
Last skate magazine looked at: Truthfully speaking, I can’t remember.
Last video you saw: Footage for the new Plan B video.
Favorite video: Footage for the new Plan B video.
Favorite place to travel to: Kauai
You will never catch me filming at: I’m not a bitch, I’ll skate anything.
You will never catch me entering: A church unless it’s made of concrete or skatelite
Favorite DC’s: I’ve been skating my new shoe and I like it a lot

Bio:
We have all pondered the question "Who is the greatest skateboarder of all time?" and it’s one of those questions that might be impossible to answer. One can’t really pick the best painter in history, or even the best musicians--sure we have our opinions and they’re all usually based on style, technique, output, longevity, attitude, influence, accomplishments, ability, etc. With skateboarding, some people will say there is no such thing as "the greatest skateboarder of all time," but chances are, when the question is posed, Danny Way will be mentioned more often than most.

So how did he get there? By six years old Danny was already frequenting Del Mar Skate Ranch with his older brother Damon and skating with the likes of Kevin Staab, Steve Steadham, Billy Ruff and Tony Hawk. While tagging along with Damon and Damon’s friends, Danny spent a lot of time skating street, but was also bullied into skating pools, vert, and mini ramps by the Vista Skate Locals (VSL as Damon’s crew was known) in order to make Danny multi-terrained. "Danny was trying gay twists on vert when he was twelve years old, before he could even do decent airs or inverts. I think after years of that, he figured out how to eliminate fear from his mind," says Damon.

By ten years old, Danny was already sponsored by Hosoi and Vision. He was small, but an obvious talent and there was a buzz going around California about the up and comer. By twelve, Danny Way was asked to turn pro for the newly-formed, soon-to-be-legendary H-Street skateboards. Danny refused and joined as an am. Once on H-Street, Danny produced two video parts for "Shackle Me Not" and "Hocus Pocus" easily two of the most important skateboarding films of all time. At fifteen, Danny was collecting paychecks in the range of $20,000 for board sales. Most importantly, Danny became close friends with Mike Ternasky, who supported Danny’s decision to leave H-Street for the greener pastures over at the newly-formed Blind skateboards, sister company to Steve Rocco’s World Industries. Which soon, with the help of Mike Ternasky, formed another sister company known as Plan B.

Danny joined Plan B and "The Questionable Video" was soon released. The video, and Danny’s part, changed skateboarding forever. The follow up Virtual Reality did the same. In 1993 many riders from Blind and Plan B left to form Girl, shortly after, in 1994, Mike Ternasky tragically died in a car accident. As if the demise of Plan B and the loss of his friend and virtual father weren’t enough, just as DC was getting underway, Danny suffered a near fatal injury while surfing. Recovery was long and hard, doctors were clueless at times, but by Tampa Pro 1996 Danny was rehabilitated and better than ever, winning the vert contest.

In 1997, the DC Super Ramp was built and Danny broke the world’s record for the highest air on a skateboard. The same day he did a 12-foot kickflip indy and bomb dropped from a helicopter into the ramp. Two years later, now riding for Alien Workshop after the decision to finally close the doors on Plan B, MTV asked Danny to try the same stunts again for their Sports and Music Festival. He accepted, did the helicopter drop with a dislocated shoulder that he earned on an earlier attempt, and although he didn’t beat the 1997 world record, he still won the high air contest.

In the following years there were some knee and shoulder surgeries, some recovering time, and some filming for The DC Video. Everyone knew Danny’s part would be insane, but no one could even anticipate what was to come between Danny’s mind boggling MegaRamp part in The DC Video and his unfathomable follow-up part in the Deluxe Edition less than 8 months later.

In 2004 the milestones continued. Danny brought the MegaRamp to the X Games, telling officials that competing on the MagaRamp would be the only way that he’d ever consider doing the event. And, rightfully so, he won the first ever Gold medal in the event... it’s no wonder considering how much time he’d clocked on the massive structure while filming for the DC Video / DC Video Deluxe Edition.

The following year, 2005, Danny took the MegaRamp across the Pacific Ocean to China for his jump over the Great Wall of China. On day one, on his first drop in, he clipped the edge, bounced upside down, and slid the rest of the way down the biggest skateboarding structure ever created. The slam tore ligaments in his ankle and possibly tore his ACL. The next day, with a swollen ankle and barely able to walk (let alone skateboard), Danny became the first person to jump the Great Wall of China on a skateboard. He did it four times too, and did three legit and distinct tricks over the 60-foot gap.

Less than a month later, ankle still bruised and battered from the Great Wall slam, Danny returned to Los Angeles to win his second Big Air Gold Medal at X Games XI. It’s hard to believe Danny could even skate well enough a whole month later to take Gold at the X Games. He repeated Gold again in 2006, making three straight Golds in the Big Air event.

In April of 2006 Danny bomb drops 82 feet from the top of the neon guitar outside the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The feat earned Danny another world record: highest Bomb Drop.

Danny is currently busy filming a Plan B video part, and is in the process of putting together a full feature documentary about his life.

It seems like everything Danny does is packed with evidence of astronomical progression, larger than life skateboarding, and unmatched talent. To anyone who wouldn’t already acknowledge that Danny Way is one of the greatest skateboarders ever: he actually isn’t. Danny way is the greatest skateboarder ever--period.

How's the health?
Everything is as good as it can be, considering all the damage that's been done.

We hear you and Gonz have been talking lately about the MegaRamp. What are some of the crazy trick ideas he's sharing with you?
Midnight grind. That's it.

Yea, that sounds like a Gonz idea. The rocket backflip-aka the El Camino-was pretty gnarly. What trick is next for you to keep the MegaRamp progression going?
Switch stance blindfolded juggling on one leg f**kin' triple backflip varial.

What are you going to call it?
Spastic Monkey. (laughs)

Given the speed and height you guys are getting, how crazy do you think the MegaRamp tricks are going to get?
I think it's going to get crazy. (laughs)

It seems like you've been skating street a lot more these days. Would you say that's true?
I've been skating whatever I can skate these days. There's no rhyme or reason or plan or any sort of direction.

Say you have an open day and can go skate wherever or do whatever you want. How are you spending that day?
Well, I can only skate for a few hours before I get tired. So some days I don't feel like skating, but end up going and I'm stoked that I did it. But some days I want to go skate all day but can't find anyone to go skate with. Sometimes I can't put together the right plan to go find spots. It's a gamble everyday.

So, I don't have an idealistic vision of the perfect skate day. Some of the best skate days are the ones that you have no plan for.

Style obviously plays a huge roll in skateboarding, and we see all sorts of different styles of skaters on Plan B and especially DC. What one thing separates good style from bad style?
Style is all just personal preference. Some guys have better style on their boards as far as tricks and sh*t. But I don't really look at that as an important part. The movements you have on your skateboard and the style you have with techniques are more signatures; some people try to skate like other people and I don't know if there's a good or bad style. You can't really say who's better because then you'd be dissing on someone else's technique.
Really, it's all personal preference. Somebody might say I like that guy's style better because he's more powerful. He might not have the finesse or smooth style but he might be more amped or aggressive, and that might appeal to them.

Can you give an example of someone?
Chris Miller has good style. Yeah.

Speaking of Plan B, Brian Wenning is the newest guy on the team. He has very different style from the rest of the guys. What does he bring to the team?
Just one more component of diversity to the Plan B program. You hit it on the nose with the style thing. Brian has a pretty signature style of his own. He brings something unique to Plan B that we didn't have.

We also heard you just went to Vermont to try rally racing at the same place Ken Block and Travis Pastrana learned at. What went down out there?
Yep. I learned how to drive two-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive; in slippery conditions, in the rain, mud, sleet, and snow.

Was it fun?
It was all right.

Do you ever see yourself trying that competitively?
I'd enter one race actually: train for one year, enter one race, bump some elbows, then I'm done. I'd be a privateer. I'd be the dude who isn't sponsored by the factory but just shows up and tries to hang with the pros. He pays for all his own sh*t. I'm comin' in like, f**k it, you guys got your $500,000 race car and I've got my supped-up Impreza right off the street, and I'm ready to go toe-to-toe here.

How's life in general?
Life for Danny is always a challenge. It always looks pretty from the outside obviously, but...

What else?
Got barreled this morning. Couple nice barrels at George's. My first wave I dropped-in, stuck my hand in the wave, didn't have to stall, and locked into a smith grind; pretty much a stand-up barrel. Got shot out into a big roundhouse. I was f**kin' amping. First wave.

And you haven't been surfing lately?
I've been surfing here and there, but I haven't been barreled like that in a long time. I dropped-in and it was like a legit barrel, got spit out into a roundy. You come out and do a roundy, you know you got a good barrel.

Congratulations on your tube.
Thank you.